Now, without trying to sound too old; in my day, Sonic was a legendary game. It has good graphics for it's time, couple of new characters were introduced in each game, good levels, and you knew where you stood.
GRAPHICS: Well, yes, the graphics are better than the original...But hey, it was made 16 years ago so I'd expect that. And it's in 3D! ... erm, great? Really, the graphics may be better than they were, but they're not what you'd like to see on an Xbox 360. I'd expect to see this on a Cube, or PS2.
STORY: Well again, comparing to old, original Sonic *had* a story, but it was simple, straight forward, and you really didn't care that much. With this they've tried to make you more interested in the story, but really, there's no point. It's not the type of game where you really want 10 weeks worth of cut scenes. Never was.
COMBAT: Well, it used to be jump, and there was a degree of skill involved, because you had to jump at the right time and speed to clear jumps, and hit enemies in the right place. Now you just keep tapping the button to perform some weird, unimaginably hard to control, homing jumps....it's a button bashing game at best.
PLAYABILITY: The camera angles are poor, the control over your character is dredfull. Just keeping your character on the map is hard enough. It's the sort of game you think "Hey, that might be a bit of fun..." Then you spend 12 hours on the first level falling off the edge of the map ever few seconds and you loose your hair...Probably see a lot of these traded in.
OVERALL: If you enjoyed Sonic, like I did all those years ago, or even if you're new and want to get into the amazing Sonic series, I suggest to you one thing; Get the originals!! Download them from Xbox live! or buy Mega Collection and play Sonic 1, 2 and 3. They were the games that defined the era. I don't even consider this game to be a Sonic game. It's an imposter. It has to be.